


Getting Together

by unwrittengold



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-12-01 01:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11475297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unwrittengold/pseuds/unwrittengold
Summary: A mishap makes Nico think he's blown his chances of getting together with Will, but it turns out to be just a misunderstanding instead.





	Getting Together

Nico sat hunched over on the edge of the pier, legs dangling just above the water as he twisted his skull ring continuously and frowned down at his reflection.

The night was quiet, for the most part. The only constant sound was soft ripples of water washing up on the shore. Occasionally, he would hear a door close shut as someone left a building, or the sound of campers' indistinct chatter that was sometimes mixed with laughter. He didn't think anyone would come out this far and figured he was pretty safe at being left alone for a while. It was, after all, a chilly night in December. He personally didn't care about the cold and could deal with it. He wanted some time to collect his thoughts, avoiding his cabin on purpose in case someone decided to check up on him.

There was only one person he could think of currently at camp who would actually want to check up on him anyway, and he was pretty sure he had just scared that person off.

Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter were having double holiday parties to improve camp relations. They were going to take place over two consecutive Saturdays during winter break so that campers who had school could attend. The one at Camp Half-Blood was in a few days, so the year-rounders and those who had come back earlier today were helping to set things up. Less than an hour ago, Nico had been speaking with Will at the dining pavilion, and he thought with a pang of sadness that that might have been the last time Will would ever speak to him…

_Less than an hour earlier…_

Somehow, Will had managed to rope Nico into helping set up the decorations for the holiday party, so now he found himself holding an armful of Christmas lights while Will untangled them, chatting away while Nico was only half paying attention. Nico didn't really care all that much for Christmas or even December. Bianca had died in December, and the holiday just reminded him of all the losses he'd suffered over the years of his life. Hazel's birthday was also in December, and it was a bit surreal to him that one sister's birthday was so close to the day he'd lost the other, but at least that was something happy to celebrate. He'd already gotten her a birthday present and had it tucked away in his cabin for when she came to visit for the holiday party.

He hadn't noticed he'd zoned out for a moment until he heard Will repeatedly calling his name. Blinking, Nico looked over at the son of Apollo. "Huh? Sorry, I was just thinking."

Will smiled at him and chuckled. "I asked if you were looking forward to having to share your cabin for the weekend," he repeated.

Nico rolled his eyes in response. "I don't mind sharing the cabin with my sister." Honestly, he wished Hazel would be able to stay a bit longer, but he understood she had her own life going for her at Camp Jupiter. He missed her, but it would be enough to see her for the next few days.

Someone let out a giggle from above them, and Nico and Will both glanced up to see a girl from the Aphrodite cabin standing on a stepladder, giggling and pointing to something hanging above their heads.

Nico resisted the urge to groan out loud once he saw what the girl was pointing at. A mistletoe? Really? He glared at the girl then back up at the offending plant before he shook his head and let out a sigh, opening his mouth to say something in response… but stopped when he saw Will's face.

Will was looking up at the mistletoe with an almost pondering look, like he was… actually… considering... He lowered his gaze once he noticed Nico was staring at him, looking indecisive for a moment. Then he gave a little smile, shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'well, what can you do?', and leaned forward.

And forward.

And forward. And started to close his eyes.

Nico's own eyes widened as it sunk in that Will Solace was actually going to _kiss_ him. Panicking, Nico reached out to plant his hands squarely against Will's chest and shove him away in horror, dropping the Christmas lights on the ground with a clatter.

It felt like everyone stopped talking at the noise and turned their attention to the two of them. Will looked at him with a stunned expression as Nico stared back, his heart hammering away in his chest and feeling like he couldn't breathe for a moment… then a flash of dejection flicked across Will's face before he forced a fake smile, leaning down to pick up the lights Nico had dropped. He was saying something but Nico didn't hear. He only saw the way that Will's face looked like Nico had just broken something inside of him.

By the time Will looked up, Nico had already turned on his heels and was racing out the door. He thought he heard Will's voice calling out his name, but he didn't stop running.

_Back to the present..._

That was what he did, he thought bitterly as he scowled down at his reflection again. He ran away when things became too much for him to handle. Now Will hated him and probably wouldn't ever want to speak to him again.

No, he told himself realistically. No, Will wouldn't hate him. He couldn't imagine Will hating anyone. But things would definitely be awkward now. He'd probably just ruined their friendship. 

It wasn't even that Nico _didn't_ want Will to kiss him… They had… _something_ between them, some _Thing_ , but they'd gotten to be good friends and Nico didn't want to ruin that. He'd always been too scared to say anything about how he felt, fearing it might change their friendship for the worse. He knew he liked Will, knew that he'd had a crush on him for months now, but with Jason, Piper, Percy, and Annabeth off at school, and Reyna, Hazel, and Frank off at Camp Jupiter, Will had been his only good friend still at camp. He was comfortable around Will and felt at ease with him, even if sometimes the stupid son of Apollo could definitely make his heart race. They had a good thing going between them… or rather, _had_ had. Nico was sure things would be different now.

But why had Will tried to kiss him? Had he just been playing around because the mistletoe was there or did he actually…

"Nico?"

The familiar voice made Nico start, jolting out his thoughts. He'd been so lost in thinking that he hadn't even noticed anyone approaching.

Footsteps made their way down the pier and Nico swallowed hard when he saw Will's shoes come into view next to him. He stared pointedly at the water as Will sat down, unsure of what to say.

The two of them sat there in silence for a moment, both of their legs hanging over the side of the dock, until Will let out a sigh, and Nico inwardly steeled himself for whatever he was going to say next.

"Hey, I just wanted to say… I'm… I'm sorry for what I did back there. I should have asked if you were okay with it first. I'm really sorry I didn't."

Not trusting himself to speak, Nico just bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders, turning his head a little so he was looking away from the other boy.

Will was silent for another long moment, the quiet stretching out awkwardly. "Nico… Look, I… You're a really hard person to read sometimes, but I thought that… I mean, it doesn't excuse me trying to, you know, kiss you without your permission, but I thought that… maybe… I don't know…"

Will gave another sigh. "I thought we… had something between us that was more than just… just friends. And if there isn't, that's completely okay," he hastily added. "It really is. Just, sometimes the way you act when we're together makes me think… or at least _made_ me think… How do I say this…"

He could hear the slight frustration in Will's tone, but he wasn't sure if it was frustration towards him or that Will couldn't figure out how to say whatever it is he wanted to. He continued to remain silent and kept on looking the other direction, pressing his lips more firmly together, figuring it would be something along the lines of _Maybe it's best we don't hang out for awhile._ He wouldn't be surprised, even though the thought of keeping his distance from Will only brought him another pang of sadness. 

"I know you're from a time where being anything but straight wasn't okay," Will continued on, "and I know it's probably still not an easy thing for you so I don't blame you for getting upset about me trying to kiss you in public… but… I guess… I just wanted to say… I like you, Nico. I _really_ really like you."

The word made Nico's eyes widen in shock, gripping onto the dock so tightly that his fingers hurt. What? Will _what_?

"I'm not asking for anything right now if you still need time to sort through stuff, and you know I'll help whenever and however you want me to with anything, but I just want to know… if you think, maybe, one day in the future, you and I could… be more than friends?" Nico didn't need to look at Will to be able to picture how the other teen's expression must look like now, not when he could clearly hear the tentative but hopeful tone to his voice. "Because I'll wait for you as long as you need me to if there's a chance, but… I just… need to know if you _want_ me to." Will paused, and when Nico didn't answer, he pressed the question again gently but still hopefully. "… Do you, Nico? Want me to wait for you?"

Nico couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn’t answer Will right away because his throat was so choked up. Even after he'd ran out on him… Will still wanted to be friends… Will wanted to be _more_ than friends… Will wanted to be with _him_. Out of everyone at camp, out of everyone in the _world_ , Will Solace wanted to be with _him_ , Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, child of darkness and death, brooder extraordinaire.

He took in a deep breath and finally turned to look at Will… only to see the other boy standing up and turning to start walking away, probably because he thought he wasn't going to get an answer out of Nico.

Panic surged through him, afraid that if he let Will walk away now, he was going to lose him for good. "No!" he cried out, grabbing onto Will's wrist to stop him from leaving.

Will froze and was still for a moment, his turn to look pointedly ahead and not at Nico. He was silent for a moment with an unreadable expression on his face, then he asked almost wearily, "No what? You don't want me to wait for you?"

"No," Nico said, trying to sort through the words that were tumbling all over the place in his head and get them out into the air in a way that made sense.

"Nico-"

"I don't want you to wait for me," he blurted out, finally daring to look Will directly in the face.

That left Will quiet again, looking down at him with that same broken expression as before, and no, no, no, he was saying it all wrong, he didn't _mean_ -

Will was trying to tug his hand away, was saying something but Nico didn't hear the words, latching onto Will's wrist as tightly as he could to stop him from walking away while thinking desperately _fix it, fix it, fix it!_

"No, Will, I mean – I don't want you to wait for me _anymore_."

Again, that made Will pause, but he stopped trying to get away and looked back down at Nico in confusion.

"I don't want to wait," he stated again, more firmly and clear this time, the desperation in his tone changing into determination. "I know… what I want. What you said… about… about us… That's what I want too. I don't want to wait."

 _Finally_ , understanding started to dawn in Will's eyes, and a slow grin started to spread across his face. "Yeah…?" he asked with bated breath, sitting back down and taking Nico's hand that had held his wrist in a vice-like grip in both of his own, squeezing it. 

"Yeah," Nico confirmed, a huge sense of relief sweeping through him. "About earlier… I'm sorry about that too… I wasn't expecting… and I've never… and everyone was…" he stammered.

Will laughed brightly, grinning widely now. "So what you're saying is I should lay off any kissing in public? Because I can absolutely do that, no problem."

Nico just nodded mutely, feeling gratefully overwhelmed that Will understood him so much he could say things not even in complete sentences and Will would still know what he was trying to say. 

Will leaned forward, closing his eyes while resting their foreheads together, and Nico mirrored the action, letting out a sigh of relief that he hadn't driven Will away for good.

"Best. Day. Ever," Will murmured, and Nico echoed it with a soft laugh. "So… we just agreed to no kissing in public, but…" the blonde asked as he pulled away so he could look Nico square in the face, searching for permission this time.

Feeling his cheeks heat up and inwardly cursing in embarrassment, Nico nodded his consent. This time, he leaned in when Will did, closed his eyes when Will did, pressed his lips against Will's as Will did the same. It was chaste and only lasted a few seconds, but for a first kiss, Nico thought it was pretty damn perfect.

They pulled apart slowly and when Nico opened his eyes, Will was grinning brightly again. "You know, for a first kiss, that wasn't so bad."

Nico shoved him again, but it was a much softer push than before, and he rolled his eyes as Will laughed. "Not so bad?" he asked with a twinge of amused exasperation.

"Well, it's not like I have anything to compare it to," Will admitted.

"… Wait, you mean you've never…?" Nico asked in slight surprise.

"Nope," Will confirmed. "That was my first."

"Really?" With how well-liked Will was, Nico found that hard to believe.

The son of Apollo shrugged. "Haven't had anyone I've really wanted to before."

… Oh. _Oh._ And he'd just… He wanted to kiss _him_ , Nico di Angelo. He was the first person Will had really ever wanted to kiss? He couldn't believe it.

"… It was mine too," Nico confessed, after a pause.

"It was?" Will grinned, squeezing Nico's hand again. "So what do you think?"

"I think…" Nico thought for a moment, licking his lips and noticing the way Will's eyes zeroed right in on them.

"You think…?" Will prompted, looking back up at his eyes.

Nico paused for a moment, then got the tiniest hint of a hopeful smirk on his face. "I think… practice makes perfect?"

Will didn't say anything in response. He just smiled that same bright, happy smile again, no longer broken, and leaned forward again to put his mouth to other uses… uses that Nico was quite happy to assist him with.

*************************************************************************************

That Saturday at the holiday party, Nico determinedly walked over to where Will was sitting at a table, talking with a fellow camper and making gestures with one hand while holding a cup of punch in his other.

Sensing someone standing behind his shoulder, Will looked up at Nico and it made Nico's heart melt a little at the way his blue eyes lit up as he smiled softly and fondly just at the sight of seeing him. "Hey, Nico. What's-"

Before Will could finish what he was saying, Nico reached down to take the cup of punch and set it down on the table, taking Will's free hand with his own and tugging him up. "Come on," was the only explanation he gave.

"Okay," Will answered bemusedly, but willing to follow him nonetheless. "Where are we going?"

Nico led him out into the middle of the dance floor and Will must have been assuming they were just taking a short cut through it because when Nico stopped suddenly, Will almost ran into him.

"Did you want to dance…?" Will asked in slight confusion, knowing Nico wasn't really the dancing type. When Nico pointed up, Will tilted his head back to glance up at the ceiling. His eyes widened when he saw the mistletoe attached to it.

Before Will had a chance to say anything else, Nico took his face in his hands and kissed him gently right there in the middle of the dance floor. He didn't pull away right after either, letting the kiss linger for some good solid seconds before he dared to open his eyes and look at Will.

Will was looking at him in shock, pupils blown wide. "Nico, what… I thought you didn't want-"

Nico cut him off before he could finish. "Everyone in this room that's already taken has someone else to kiss, and everyone who isn't better know you're unavailable now." A little smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth, even as he felt a little nervous at how Will would react.

He needn't had bothered worrying. Will's face immediately broke out into a wide grin that threatened to split his face, and he lifted his own hands up to cup them gently around Nico's neck, pulling him in for a deeper, longer lasting kiss. He could hear some people cat-calling and someone even chiming in with "It's about time, Solace and di Angelo!" but for all he had been stressed out about doing anything in public before, he found that he didn't care now that he'd actually done it. Seeing Will's whole expression light up like that was worth it, and Nico found he couldn't stop himself from holding back a grin of his own even as they continued kissing.

"Get a room!" someone else finally yelled and Will pulled back with a happy laugh. He slide his hands down Nico's arms to grasp their hands together with a squeeze, nodding towards the door. "You want to go somewhere that's a little more private?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Nico answered with a soft laugh and a light smile.

Will bumped Nico's shoulder playfully as they headed off, and Nico ducked his head while trying to fight that smile from getting any bigger. They passed by some of Nico's friends, Jason grinning with an arm around Piper's shoulders, Piper happily giving him a thumbs up, Reyna smiling and giving an approving nod. Frank and Hazel were nearby too, and Hazel was beaming the most out of everyone. She mouthed silently _I'm happy for you_ , and Nico tried not to let himself tear up. He'd told her about his feelings for Will when the people from Camp Jupiter had arrived earlier, and he'd been so relieved when she'd hugged him and told him it didn't change the way she felt about him at all. He was still her brother, and she still loved him.

Wordlessly, they headed off towards the docks, the sounds from the party growing quieter the farther away they got. Nico reached down to take Will's hand, and Will responded by lacing their fingers together then squeezing reassuringly.

Nico hoped he wouldn't let go for a long time.


End file.
